The large portrait on the wall caught Sully’s attention. “Lynn, who’s this? She looks so lost,” he asked his friend, pointing at the picture.
Lynn looked over to where Sully was standing, “Oh, that’s my best friend Alexis. I took that picture back in November of last year, I think. It’s my favorite picture of her. She wasn’t even aware that I took it; she was kinda lost in her own little world at that point.”
The picture in question was of Alex, sitting on the seawall steps on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain, with the sunset as a backdrop.
Lynn didn’t know how the photo would turn out, but was moved to tears when she saw the print. Even though Alex had put on a brave & confident face to the world, she couldn’t lie to the camera; the photo showed all the hurt, pain & loss of her entire family in her eyes.
Lynn explained to Sully that Alex had called her in hysterics late one night in October after receiving a phone call from a friend in the State Police Department, informing her that her parents & older sister had been killed in an auto accident. Lynn had gone to New Orleans immediately to be with Alex to help any way she could.
Lynn had ended up staying in New Orleans through New Year’s, but had not minded the ‘working leave’ from her job as a music photojournalist. To make up for her absence, she sent in photos & stories on the local bands & the two major concerts that had come through.
When Sully turned & looked at Lynn with an intense blue stare, she had enough time to think, ‘Uh, oh, he wants something’, before Sully asked, “When can I meet her?”
“I HATE it when you give me ‘puppy eyes’,” Lynn said. She sighed in resignation, knowing Sully would not give up until he got his way. “Ok, ok! I’m flying into New Orleans tomorrow to help her finish packing. We should be back in Melbourne on or around the 8th; it’s a hell of a long drive from New Orleans to here, especially with two women driving a UHAUL! You want to come help unload everything when we get back?” she joked.
“She’s moving here?” Sully asked.
“Yeah. She kept telling me she needed a change of scenery & I finally convinced her to move to Florida. She decided to close her portrait studio in New Orleans & start over here. The store front is already rented; she and I are going into business together.”
“Do you think you can convince her to go to the House of Blues in New Orleans on the 4th? We’re playing there & you can tell her you need to get pictures.”
“I’m sure I can try – I can’t guarantee it though!”
“Great! I’ll see you on the 4th, then.” He smiled as he bent & kissed Lynn on the cheek, then turned & left her office.
